Elon Musk arguably played a bigger role in electing Donald Trump president than anyone other than Trump himself. The tech titan spent more than a quarter billion dollars on the election effort. He bought Twitter, making it hospitable to conservative ideas and reinstated Trump’s account after it had been banned following the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. He made it more socially safe for business leaders to publicly back the former president. He used his platform and influence to unabashedly criticize “wokeism.”
But while Musk was one of the best things to happen to the Trump campaign, he could end up being one of the worst things to happen to the incoming Trump administration.
Placing too much trust in Musk could lead to a repeat of a key mistake of Trump’s first term in office. In 2016, Trump erred in handing significant influence to advisors who lacked zeal for MAGA aspirations. This included his daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who brought with them liberal New York politics and a strong desire to remain popular in their elite personal circle. They sidelined disciplined MAGA proponents in the White House, undermined the administration’s resolve on immigration, and pushed Trump to pass the First Step Act, which freed 30,000 convicted criminals from prison.
Trump runs a similar risk with Musk, who has done his best to be Trump’s shadow since Nov. 5.
Trump’s handing leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency to Musk isn’t a superficial token of appreciation for Musk’s support. He’s not sending Musk to be the ambassador of some remote island. Instead, the Tesla founder is going to have office space in the White House complex. He will be able to combine his immediate access to the president and the executive branch with his own personal influence over politicians throughout the country.
Why could Musk be a bad bet?
The answer is simple: Musk is not a MAGA Republican.
Musk described himself as a “liberal” as late as 2022. He turned his back on Trump once in 2017; he agreed to join an advisory council for the president’s first tenure in the White House, then left after the president pulled the country out of the Paris Climate Accords. He cozied up with Barack Obama when it served his interests and “strongly supported” Obama for president.
Rehauling the nation’s immigration system — which includes securing the border and implementing mass deportations — was the most significant mandate given to Trump in November. Voters concerned that mass migration drives down wages and takes jobs from American workers flocked to the polls to vote for Trump.
Musk’s recent comments suggest he may not be fully on board with Trump’s immigration agenda. Musk and DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy have prompted fury among the MAGA base for their support for H-1B visas. The traditional justification for this program is that it allows companies to bring skilled immigrants to the U.S. to work.
Critics of the program, including odd bedfellows Steve Bannon and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), oppose the H-1B program on the basis that it displaces skilled American workers from the job market, disincentives domestic workers from seeking higher skills, and harms wages by facilitating the engagement of less expensive workers from other countries. They point to a statistic that 76 percent of engineers in Silicon Valley are not Americans. A full 60 percent of voters agree with Bannon and Sanders. What’s more, the H-1B program has enriched tech oligarchs at the expense of the American worker. Musk is foremost among the beneficiaries.
Trump attempted to restrict H-1B visas during his first term. But now he is siding with Musk on the issue, insisting that he fully backs the H-1B program, putting himself at odds with many voters who rallied to him and put their trust in him in 2016 and again in 2024.
Musk shows signs that he intends to use his platform in the Trump orbit to extend his own power around the globe, as if a co-president and more than the co-head of DOGE. On X Musk fired a steady stream of shots at the British government regarding crimes committed by immigrants, even running a poll earlier this month asking X users if the United States should “liberate Britain.” Musk sparked fresh controversy over the issue days before the inauguration, drawing negative reactions from the British government.
Does Trump need the richest man in the world, sitting down the hall from the Oval Office, threatening to meddle in the politics of America’s closest ally? It’s one thing to do this when you’re just the richest man and without an office in the White House. And what if Musk involves himself in national and international economic policy? What will happen when Musk’s agenda for electric cars and climate policy conflicts with the MAGA agenda for reviving the production and export of American oil and gas and revising the global framework for addressing climate issues?
Republican members of Congress clearly recognize the power that Musk now holds. Many members meet with the billionaire regularly and heap praise him publicly — one even called him “our prime minister” on national television.
None of this is to say that Musk can’t have a positive influence on a second Trump administration. He has some definitive plans through DOGE to cut government spending — an urgent priority of the MAGA platform. Plus, X will serve as a valuable microphone for the new president and his supporters.
Americans want action this time around, and in many ways the expectations of Trump are far higher now than they were in 2017. To be sure, Musk isn’t the only potential risk in Trump’s new term. However, he is a symbol of one of his worst mistakes the first Trump administration: By trusting “former” liberals to help craft and implement policy, Trump ceded political capital. He now runs the same risk of Musk pushing policy toward the left or starting controversies that divide or distract Republicans.
Kristin Tate is a political writer based in Boston and the author of three books, the most recent of which is titled “The Liberal Invasion of Red State America.” She is an on-air contributor for Sky News and a columnist for The Boston Herald.
